Skip to content

It’s the people who make Punchestown and this weekend Punchestown is delivering for the people.

Punchestown is set to shine this weekend as the prestigious Punchestown Premiere Weekend features two thrilling days of Grade 1 action on Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th. The weekend’s marquee events include the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle on Saturday and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on Sunday, both of which will showcase some of the sport’s most exciting horses, including the top-rated horses in Ireland State Man and Galopin Des Champs.

Between the 17 horses declared across both feature races at Punchestown this weekend they have won a combined total of 40 Grade 1 races and it is set to be a sporting weekend to remember with history in the making on Saturday and a potential race for the ages on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday’s Unibet Morgiana Hurdle: A Showdown of Champions
The €150,000 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle stands alone as a highlight of the jump season, and this year’s renewal promises to be a thrilling contest with State Man, trained by Willie Mullins, seeking to make history by winning his third consecutive Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, a feat last achieved by the legendary Hurricane Fly.

In the biggest Unibet Morgiana Hurdle field since the turn of the century, the Grade 1 star will face a formidable field, including talented stablemate Lossiemouth and Gordon Elliott’s highly-regarded Brighterdaysahead, who comes into the race with the benefit of match practice following her win at Down Royal.

State Man, whose only defeat in Grade 1 company was to Constitution Hill, is seeking an eleventh Grade 1 success over hurdles, two of which came in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown and last March he famously captured the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Lossiemouth, who is the mount of Patrick Mullins, is herself a four time Grade 1 winner, while Brighterdaysahead won at the highest level at Aintree last season.
Gordon Elliott, speaking ahead of the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, said: “We had a few options for her after Down Royal but we thought the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown was the best next step for her.

“She’s come out of Down Royal in good form and couldn’t have done much more there so we’ll go to Punchestown now at the weekend and find out a lot more about her. It’s a very prestigious race and we look forward to running her and her performance on Saturday will tell us a lot more about what direction to point her in next.”

The race will also feature the Mullins-trained Daddy Long Legs, the classy Sir Gerhard, and Winter Fog, as well as Smooth Tom (Andy Slattery) and No Looking Back (Oliver McKiernan). With a €150,000 prize fund on offer, Saturday’s showpiece promises to be a memorable renewal of race which has a notable roll of honour including the aforementioned Hurricane Fly, Faugheen, Nichols Canyon, Solwhit and Hardy Eustace.
Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase: A Clash of Gold Cup Heroes
Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase is set to be the weekend’s most eagerly anticipated race and could well be in line for race of the season even at this early stage.

Another mouth-watering clash between Galopin Des Champs, the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, and Fastorslow, the Punchestown Gold Cup victor is in store. This is the latest chapter in an exciting rivalry between the two eight-year-olds and will be the best jump race we have seen since their Punchestown Gold Cup clash last April.
Both Fastorslow and Galopin Des Champs are arguably coming into their prime season now but will start the campaign by taking on some of last season’s leading novice chasers in Fact To File, Grangeclare West, Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower. Blue Lord and Journey With Me are both highly rated chasers in their own right and Minella Cocooner makes up a very strong field for the €150,000 feature.
Martin Brassil, trainer of Fastorslow, expressed his excitement ahead of the race: “Everything has gone to plan with him, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge. It’s fantastic to see so many top-class horses taking each other on in their first race of the season.”

The JP McManus-owned trio of Fact To File, Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower all polished off fine seasons with Grade 1 successes last spring. Fact To File, the mount of Mark Walsh, won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, Inothewayurthinkin scored at Aintree while Spillane’s Tower is a course and distance winner having landed the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Blue Lord, a Grade 1 winner over two miles returns to action for the first time since last year’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, while the extremely talented Grangeclare West, a Grade 1 winning novice last season, also makes a long awaited return to action for the champion trainer.
Quality action across the weekend
Saturday’s card will also feature the Boodles Florida Pearl Novice Chase, where Gordon Elliott will saddle all three runners, including Stellar Story, Search For Glory, and Rainbow Trail. Elliott’s stable jockey Jack Kennedy rides Stellar Story with Sam Ewing onboard Search For Glory and Jody McGarvey booked for Rainbow Trail.
On the same day, Ballyburn, who triumphed in the Grade 1 Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, will make his highly-anticipated chasing debut in the Conway Piling Beginners Chase. Fellow Punchestown Festival winner Sermandzarak, who claimed the Goffs Defender Bumper, will embark on his hurdling career in the Sebden Steel Maiden Hurdle.
Sunday will see exciting action in the BetVictor Craddockstown Novice Chase, with Farren Glory and Touch Me Not from Gordon Elliott’s yard headlining the Grade 2 contest. Nurburgring, the Galway Hurdle winner, is another standout entry for trainer Joseph O’Brien.
Racing on Sunday will begin with the Colm Quinn BMW Risk Of Thunder Chase, with Stumptown, a Punchestown Festival winner, among the declared runners in the cross-country race.

Conor O’Neill, Punchestown Racecourse CEO added: “I think that this is probably one of the best weekends racing we have had here in many years. The increase in prize money, bringing the Durkan back into the Premiere Weekend is reflected in the sheer calibre of horses declared to run. We are all systems go and the reaction to the good value tickets has been really positive.”
Live Coverage on TG4 and RTÉ
Both days of top-tier racing will be broadcast live on terrestrial television, with TG4 airing its first-ever Grade 1 meeting on Saturday and RTÉ covering Sunday’s action.

Tickets and further event details are available at punchestown.com.

Click here for the full fields for racing on Saturday

Click here for the full fields for racing on Sunday

 

 

A collection of Ireland’s premier racehorses are on course to line up at Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend next month as Grade 1 racing returns to the home of jump racing.
Ireland’s highest rated hurdler and highest rated chaser feature among the entries for the Grade 1 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase respectively. Both races will see an increase in prize money this year with the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle receiving a €25,000 boost and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase prize being upped by €50,000.
State Man is one of 12 horses entered for the €150,000 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle which takes place on November 23rd, while dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs could be set for another Punchestown showdown with dual Punchestown Gold Cup winner Fastorslow on November 24th in what could potentially be one of the races of the entire season.

Willie Mullins has only had the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle prised away from his keeping once since 2011, that was when Abacadabras claimed the 2020 renewal for Gordon Elliott and Mullins once again has a strong supporting cast alongside Champion Hurdle hero State Man.
Seeking a hat-trick of victories in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, State Man is joined among the entries by Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle winner Ballyburn, KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle winner Mystical Power and Coolmore Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle winner Lossiemouth as well as Daddy Long Legs, Sir Gerhard and Winter Fog.
Gordon Elliott’s quest for a second victory in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle relies on the Grade 1 winning novice Brighterdaysahead and Fils d’Oudairies who was third in this race last year.
Recent Punchestown winner Aspire Tower may well stick to hurdling for this assignment after getting his season off to a good start at Punchestown this month for Henry de Bromhead, while the potential line up is completed by the locally trained No Looking Back for Oliver McKiernan, and the Andy Slattery-trained Smooth Tom.

A mouthwatering list of 20 horses have been entered for the €150,000 John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, headed by Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow.
Galopin Des Champs has reigned supreme twice in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but Fastorslow has had his measure in two editions of the Punchestown Gold Cup as well as the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase last season. Added into the mix is the Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe and the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge is a fascinating entry having won the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase here in April.
The Jimmy Mangan-trained Spillane’s Tower ended the season with a Grade 1 double when claiming the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse before signing off a fine campaign in the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival and could make his seasonal deubt back at the Kildare venue.

Conor O’Neill, CEO of Punchestown Racecourse, commented: “This is one of the most exciting times of the year for all of the team here at Punchestown Racecourse as we reignite the jump season with quality Grade 1 racing. We have 32 horses entered across our first two big races of the season, the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle which has six individual Grade 1 winners entered and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase with 16 of the 20 entries already proven as Grade 1 winners.
“It is already promising to be a fantastic weekend at Punchestown and we can’t wait to welcome back so many familiar faces who will be in for an absolute treat.”

A weekend ticket to cover both days of the Punchestown Premiere Weekend is just €25 and more details on all available packages can be found at www.punchestown.com

Plenty to look forward to for all families this weekend at Punchestown on 23 and 24 November:

 

 

The chance for one lucky family to win an adventure to Lapland this December.

THE PRIZE – FULL DETAILS

This one-day Lapland adventure will be on Saturday 7 December travelling from Dublin airport. The highlight of this memorable experience will be meeting Santa in his log cabin after visiting Kittila’s Snow Village where little ones can zoom on the snow slide, learn how to drive a miniature skidoo, enjoy a short husky-led sleigh ride and visit get involved in arty activities and warm up over lunch in the cafe.

Read about the full trip HERE.

HOW TO WIN?

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Schools in the Punchestown Community Programme 2024/2025

  1. An Linbh Iosa, Ballycane
  2. Ballyshannon National School
  3. Caragh National School
  4. Halverstown NS- St Josephs NS
  5. Hollywood NS
  6. Kill National School/ Scoil Bhride
  7. Killashee Multi Denominational National School
  8. Lacken
  9. Rathmore National School
  10. Scoil Mhuire National School, Ballymore
  11. Scoil Bhride National School, Kilcullen
  12. Scoil Brid, Oldtown Naas
  13. Scoil Chorbain
  14. St Marys J.N.S, Blessington
  15. St Marys SNS, Blessington
  16. Marks Newbridge
  17. Naas Community National School
  18. Ursaille Naofa, Twomilehouse
  19. Valleymount

Introducing The Fruit Shoot Family & Schools Activation

Punchestown Racecourse today welcomed Britvic Ireland as official soft drinks pouring partner in a three-year deal that will commence at the upcoming Punchestown Festival running from Tuesday 30th April to Saturday 4th May 2024.

The deal provides exclusivity across all catering partners and retail outlets throughout the Punchestown enclosures for the Britvic range that includes Pepsi, 7Up, Ballygowan and the premium mixer range London Essence Co.

Britvic is an international business that, like Punchestown, is rich in history and heritage. Britvic is a global organisation with 39 much-loved brands sold in over 100 countries.

In addition to the pouring rights element, Britvic have also come onboard to support the Family Day Schools and Activation programme under the Fruit Shoot brand. In keeping with tradition, over twenty local primary schools partake in a festival themed art competition with entries displayed at the Festival Family Day, Saturday 4th May. This year the students were tasked with creating a model racecourse using sustainable and recycled products. There will also be a Fruit Shoot zone in the family area at the Festival on Saturday, where families can engage with the brand and sample some product.

Caroline Hyde, Marketing Manager at Britvic said: “We are delighted to be partnering with a flagship venue like Punchestown Racecourse. The Punchestown Festival is not only one of Ireland’s premium sporting and social events but it’s also Ireland’s largest corporate hospitality occasion. Hyde continued: “The schools activation is a perfect fit for the Fruit Shoot brand. At Fruit Shoot we champion kids and everything they love and with our great tasting on the go drinks kids they’re free to get on with being themselves’’

The 2024 Punchestown Festival returns from Tuesday 30th April to Saturday 4th May 2024. The sporting and social highlight will attract crowds of up to 100,000 across the five days. The unique blend of top-class sport, vibrant enclosures, style, food and lie entertainment has earned the event a ‘must do status’.

For further information please visit: www. Punchestown.com

 

Saturday 19  &  Sunday  20 November featuring graded, cross country & listed racing
Live Music, Free childrens Play Room, Dining Packages, Bus Service
Advance Ticket Deals and Dining Packages

A sporting and social favourite, the Punchestown Winter Festival returns on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November with an action packed programme of brilliant racing, live music, family fun and unique dining experiences in store as the Punchestown team commit to deliver a quality experience for all ages at the right price.

At the centre of the double header comes top class racing and the Punchestown Winter Festival welcomes the stars of the game as they launch their season campaigns. Household names like Rachael Blackmore, Willie Mullins and champion jockey Paul Townend will set out their stalls in the first grade one hurdle of the season. The prestigious Unibet Morgiana Hurdle takes centre stage on Sunday 20th November and is a wonderful opportunity to see champion hurdle contenders in the flesh. The supporting card more than holds its own with spectator favourites like the Risk Of Thunder Cross Country race and grade two Florida Pearl Chase on offer. Day one, Saturday 19th November, is full of potential thrillers as we kick off with two chases over the famous Punchestown fences before enjoying two graded hurdles and more.

Off the turf and in the enclosures visitors can enjoy entertainment for all ages and levels of horse racing knowledge or experience. There will be live music in the grandstand after racing each day with a wide selection of bars including the Open Gate, Loft and Archive bars all providing excellent viewing, seating and access for your comfort. Enjoy all that a race day has to offer with the peace of mind that there will be a bus transfer service into Naas after racing each day.

Punchestown is a family friendly venue and with free parking, free admission to all under 14 years, ample buggy friendly hardcore space and child friendly dining options. Junior racegoers and families will be pleased to hear that The Playroom is back in action. This complimentary indoor facility is located next to the horse walk where a selection of games, chill out movie corner, face painting and activities will keep the younger race goers entertained during weekend race days this winter.

For families who may have outgrown the face painting stage, the ever-popular Race & Dine package is a wonderful way to elevate quality time or celebrate a special occasion. Enjoy all that is so special about an afternoon at the races from an amazing vantage point overlooking the beautiful Punchestown setting. With the ‘race’ aspect delivered, the excellent Kildare based Lily and Wild team will prepare and serve a selection of delicious seasonal dishes as part of the three course ‘dine’ element. Reserved table, guest tipster, bar, betting and full access to enclosure services like parade ring and bookmakers ring are all part of the package.

Conor O’Neill Punchestown CEO shares the teams focus to provide value to racegoers: “Running a business and a household means that I am acutely aware of just how expensive life has become! When choosing how to spend your hard-earned money you want to get value and a quality day out for you and your family or pals. We get that. We all do the same. With this in mind we have discounts and free race cards for those who book in advance, children under 14 always race for free at Punchestown and can enjoy free games and entertainment. We have worked hard with our catering and beverage partners to deliver quality and variety at the best price point that we can. An afternoon at the races with up close access to world class stars of sport offers hours of entertainment and certainly represents good value by comparison to many other options. On behalf of the team I’d like to say that we look forward to seeing visitors of all ages enjoy Punchestown this winter as People make Punchestown”.

So the message from Punchestown is to dress up or wrap up but certainly round up the gang and come racing this winter at this special place on your doorstep in the heart of Kildare.

 

Punchestown Winter Festival Quick Guide:

When: Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November 2022
Time: First race/last race 12.30 & 4pm Saturday. 11.45 & 3.50pm Sunday.
Tickets: €15pp in advance includes free racecard on arrival. €20 on the day. Seniors and students can purchase for €15 on the day. Children under 14 years FREE. Visit www.punchestown.com
Make Your Day: Live music and bus service into Naas after racing both days.
Pre-booked Dining: Race & Dine packages in restaurant or private suite from €52pp.
Casual Dining – Hay Café and The Feedroom for carvery lunches, light snacks, pastries and barista coffee.
The Playroom – Free indoor child friendly room with games, activities, movie corner, face painting etc. This is not a crèche facility and a parent or guardian must supervise children please.
More: For the best info follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Get the best deals when you sign up to our newsletter. Visit www.punchetsown.com or call the team who are happy to help.

**ENDS**